Senior Category Manager

Location: Singapore, Singapore

In fast changing markets, customers worldwide rely on Thales. Thales is a business where brilliant people from all over the world come together to share ideas and inspire each other. In aerospace, transportation, defence, security and space, our architects design innovative solutions that make our tomorrow's possible.

Thales established its presence in Singapore in 1973 to support the expansion of aerospace-related activities in the Asia-Pacific region. Throughout the last four decades, the company grew from strength to strength and is today involved in the primary businesses of Aerospace (including Air Traffic Management), Defence & Security, Ground Transportation and Digital Identity & Security. Thales today employs over 2,100 people in Singapore across all its business areas.

**Responsibilities**:

- The Category Manager (CM) supports one or several procurement categories. I will work closely with relevant Global Category Managers (GCM), the Category(ies) Team Leader (CTL) and the Buyer Analyst.
- All CM actions have to be in line with the strategy defined by the Global Category Manager and the CM will have a regular feedback loop with the GCM. The CM's prime role is the management of the RFI or/and RFP's until PVet 5 stage for business-critical work packages in order to provide competitiveness to the business
- Provide input into the worldwide category strategies (ies) for short-, medium
- and long-term needs
- Ensure the relevant players have a good knowledge of Thales need and support the category strategy (ies) so that the business gains secure targeted maximum projects and customer competitive advantage.
- Ensure that clear and measurable savings targets are identified and delivered by category and endorsed by business / project.
- Ensure category commitment and spend compliance tracking is well reported.
- Monitor the category markets on an on-going basis to identify and understand for the category (ies) including key players, newcomers, economic evolutions, market or regulation constraints, innovations and technology in order to support the development of the most up to date category strategy (ies) for the businesses.
- Based on the above, provide insights as to how products / projects could be more competitive via the adoption of different suppliers / methodologies / technology etc.
- In conjunction with the Product, Bids and Project Procurement Managers and cross functional teams, the CM supports the preparation of Make / Buy decisions (lead by the PPM) in order to optimise business performance.
- Governance, Leadership and Performance Management:

- Ensure THALES governance is applied using KPI's and root cause corrective actions
- Performance management of the supply base in line with the global category Manager GCM.
- Ensure that supplier competitions follow THALES group process and are balanced and fair in order to improve business and customer performance.
- Ensure that the supplier contracts and framework agreements are negotiated when required in line with the category strategy(ies) strategies.
- Ensure that global contracts / framework agreements are adopted and utilised.
- Ensure that specific legal compliance government or special customer requirements are taken into account during conception / implementation of in the category strategies (ies).
- Ensure that Thales e-Acquisition and all relevant THALES procurement tools are properly fully used according to governance procurement work packages at global level. on a global level
- Ensure that the risks, opportunities and Tier supply chain mapping is understood and managed in order to optimise performance to the business performance.
- Based on the performance management of the supply base identify the suppliers who require focused development actions and ensure that the Supplier Development Team have the required support / leverage to conduct successfully these actions.
- Ensure the buyer analysts receive all information to raise the Purchase Orders.

**Requirement**:

- Recognized professional qualification (CIPS, EIPM, ISM, MAI) are essential.
- Business, Procurement, Supply Chain or Engineering degrees are desirable coupled with other professional qualifications (e.g.) in Project Management.
- Experience of interactions with senior management and senior stakeholders, in complex project environment.
- Experience in product policy, design / product development with cross functional teams in a Procurement Bids and Project role.
- Experience in sub-contract management and delivery of complex solutions. Experience & ability to define and to implement category strategy.